God hears your prayer

Rachel BrittonDecember 13, 2016

This is the first post in my new #PrayBoldGirl series, where we will look at the challenges and dreams of women from history and learn from their prayers. Even though separated by centuries their needs are no different than our own. We will consider how they prayed and discover how we too can make bold prayers.

Do you ever feel your worth as a woman is defined by the number of children you have?

I’m sure Elizabeth, the woman we are looking at for this month in our series #PrayBoldGirl felt inadequate because she didn’t have five or six children running her off her feet.

Elizabeth had to live with the shame of a home devoid of the noise and mess of little ones. Even though her husband could have been infertile, women were blamed.

Nicknamed “barren one,” her empty home would have been looked upon with disapproval by her neighbors.

All her life Elizabeth waited to get pregnant. Every month she hoped her body’s usual signs of rejection would be absent. But, the cycle continued.

Her husband could have taken another wife to gain an heir. He had good reason to leave Elizabeth. Yet, he stayed, and I’m sure, they prayed together.

How Elizabeth must have dreamed of snuggling a baby in her arms. Now, there was no chance. Nature had taken its course. Her body told her it would never yield a child.

Elizabeth had to live with the disappointment of her prayers not being answered, and she had to come to terms with the fact they would never be fulfilled.

There seemed no hope her deep desire would be met.

Do you have one prayer you are waiting for God to answer? Yet, the response you want hasn’t come.

For years and years I made the same prayer request, asking God to do one thing for me. I pleaded with him to answer in the way I wanted.

As time went by, I thought, “God’s never going to agree to my desires.” “If he wanted to answer my prayer, he would have done it by now.” I’ve even asked myself, “What’s the point?”

Perhaps, eventually, you’ve given up, too.

It seems, though, that Elizabeth and Zechariah never stopped praying.

Your prayer has been heard, the angel tells Zechariah. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.

It’s a lesson for us to never give up praying.

Jesus told us we should not quit in prayer. He told a story: We are to be like the widow, who had no one to fight for her, but kept pestering a mean judge to grant her justice. She never backed down. Eventually, the judge conceded to her wishes just so he could have some peace.

We petition a good God not a mean judge when we pray. We appeal to a God who longs to answer and not just to shut us up. This story is to inspire us to persist in prayer.

Rachel, I love this story, and I love the beautiful truths you draw out of it. I dealt with infertility. My prayer for years was that God would let me get pregnant. Then, it became “God, please, just make me a mom.” In time, He gave us two children via adoption.

I have other prayers I’m still awaiting answers for. Thank you for the encouragement to stay persistent in praying. It’s too easy to just give up.

I’ve been writing and thinking about Elisabeth myself these days, and just yesterday had an experience of prayer that reinforced for me the truth that God is not even affected by geography when it comes to our prayer life. It is such an amazing thing to worship a God who is omnipresent and therefore active in every outpost of the universe!

Elizabeth is such a great example of bold prayer. We don’t see how much or how she suffered while she prayed, just the small glimpse or her ongoing prayer based on Gabriel’s message. Great encouragement to us all and series idea-will be following!

Kaye

Dear Heavenly Father, I bring Kaye to you now. I know you hear her prayers to get out of unemployment, for the depression and pain. I too, Lord, ask you to deliver her from these difficulties. Give her strength and peace knowing everything is firmly in Your hands and that you love her. You are a God who cares for the poor and the broken-hearted. Please care for Kaye now and bring people into her life to help her. Amen.

Kaye

I, too, have been waiting for God to answer a prayer. I’m starting to realize that maybe He is answering my prayer, but in His way, not in the way I wanted Him to answer. And I know that it is only for my good because He wants good things for me. Thank you for this timely reminder!